De-Googling my computer.

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Got any free alternative to skype and gmail?

Vsee replaces Skype and is free. It even runs on phones and tablets and has more capabilities than Skype. But it does not run on Linux. Gmail can be replaced by hundreds of alternatives...are you talking about just mail, or also calendaring and sync?
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member

heisenberg

Earl Grey
Vsee replaces Skype and is free. It even runs on phones and tablets and has more capabilities than Skype. But it does not run on Linux. Gmail can be replaced by hundreds of alternatives...are you talking about just mail, or also calendaring and sync?
Ah, so I can keep my contacts.That's all i care about. I am still on the old skype but they are forcing me to upgrade to the new shitty microsoft edition version. I ain't touching that one, so I am finding alternatives. Glad to see my contacts will remain in place so I can have a chat/message to my buddies.

As for email, I just want an alternative for gmail. I don't care about syncing etc...I just don't want people who have no right to be snooping my emails.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
With Vsee , can I link my skype contacts with it? Got any free alternative to gmail?

You cannot link or import your Skype contacts. You have to redo them. But like Skype, you can invite your contacts via email from within the program. You can even set it to auto-answer certain contacts, which means you can use it as a home surveillance system as I have done. I call my computer from Vsee and it answers my call and allows me to see my livingroom or bedroom or even whatever my tablet sees. When you say "alternative to Gmail", what exactly are you talking about? If it is just being able to send and receive email, then yes...hundreds of alternatives. If you are also talking about calendaring, syncing, tasks and such, then yes but with more work. I have done exactly this.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Ah, so I can keep my contacts.That's all i care about. I am still on the old skype but they are forcing me to upgrade to the new shitty microsoft edition version. I ain't touching that one, so I am finding alternatives. Glad to see my contacts will remain in place so I can have a chat/message to my buddies.

As for email, I just want an alternative for gmail. I don't care about syncing etc...I just don't want people who have no right to be snooping my emails.

Well, the Skype thing may be a problem for you since you are established on it. Skype's video chat network is not compatible with Skype and you cannot make Skype calls with it. But it is still private and not in the NSA army. Switch gradually to it. :) Your older Skype version will be killed by Microsoft one day and you will suddenly be without it. I still have $22.95 in Skype Credit that I will never get back, and will stay out there in cyberspace. :(
 

heisenberg

Earl Grey
You cannot link or import your Skype contacts. You have to redo them. But like Skype, you can invite your contacts via email from within the program. You can even set it to auto-answer certain contacts, which means you can use it as a home surveillance system as I have done. I call my computer from Vsee and it answers my call and allows me to see my livingroom or bedroom or even whatever my tablet sees. When you say "alternative to Gmail", what exactly are you talking about? If it is just being able to send and receive email, then yes...hundreds of alternatives. If you are also talking about calendaring, syncing, tasks and such, then yes but with more work. I have done exactly this.
Yeah, just sending and receiving emails. I don't care about the whole cloud business. I don't use my smartphone very much. Infact, I only use it make calls and receive text messages for my banking. I just want a free email service that protects my files. I don't want anyone I don't know to trespass; even though I know a few people probably have.
 

heisenberg

Earl Grey
Well, the Skype thing may be a problem for you since you are established on it. Skype's video chat network is not compatible with Skype and you cannot make Skype calls with it. But it is still private and not in the NSA army. Switch gradually to it. :) Your older Skype version will be killed by Microsoft one day and you will suddenly be without it. I still have $22.95 in Skype Credit that I will never get back, and will stay out there in cyberspace. :(
I mainly use text rather than video chat because of my shitty internet connection. Plus, it's quieter and I much rather have a text based chatroom.


By the way, I tried out SR ironware.Unfortunately, this browser looks very buggy. Already facing a few issues already.

1. The in built Adblock doesn't work. I had to install the 3rd party one from chrome store.
2. I can't set it as a default browser. I go into settings and click, set sr as default browser, but it doesn't work.

fixed
 

heisenberg

Earl Grey
I have had it with Google in terms of privacy issues. I know more than a few of you here hate Google for the same reason, and I was a supporter of them until I heard that they bought Nest.

http://www.wired.com/2014/01/google-didnt-just-acquire-nest-annexed-whole-new-territory/

In case you have not heard of Nest, it is a company that makes home automation and security systems for homes and offices (smart refrigerators, stoves and ovens, HVAC systems, alarm systems, lighting systems, media systems, etc). This is more Google worming itself into EVERY aspect in our lives, and entire nations are up in arms over it.

View attachment 29999

They are the closest real life analogy to Skynet. Microsoft is currently the bed partner of the NSA and the military and intelligence communities, but Microsoft's reach is not nearly as granular as Google's. Microsoft gives the NSA the ability to read your emails and documents in Office apps, and it can allow the NSA to explore the contents of your entire computer UNLESS you have encrypted it with a non-Microsoft product like TrueCrypt. It makes no sense to use Microsoft' Bitlocker to do it since they created it. :facepalm:. Google is much different. With the saturation of Android on the majority of the world's smartphones, and the wide use of Chrome, Google has it's eyes on the masses. It can aggregate the sort of real time data that Microsoft cannot hope to have anytime soon. Locations, time frames, personal interests and desires, photos and text messages and phone calls and circles of friends and relatives, it is mind-boggling. If you use Google products like Google Finance and Google Public DNS, you are in even deeper than you know.

MORE about what information they collect and how they collect it here: http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/01/08/how-google-collects-data-about-you-and-the-internet/

View attachment 30000

Now, Google is going to be in your refrigerators and home appliances too. People will be walking around as potential agents of Google (unwittingly) with real time first person data at street level provided by Google Glass, who needs the Google Street View vehicles? I have already decided: I will not allow Google Glass to be worn in my home. I hope that laws will be passed to ban them from hospitals, courtrooms, theaters, restaurants, bars and any other place they might compromise privacy.

Enough on that...

I have uninstalled Google Chrome and gone with SRware Iron which is Chromium based, but not Google. It even has an incognito mode you can create a switch for in a shortcut to start. I have made my homepages Dogpile and DuckDuckGo (the Iron choice) because Google no longer gives you honest search results. It puts paid clients at the top of the search, and does not tell you they are sponsored. The sponsored ads are not clearly marked always either. I uninstalled Google Earth too. See, we can use these services without having to have Chrome or Earth, just by using a browser (as long as it isnt Chrome).

Why is it that when small, great companies become big greedy companies, they get carried away? It happened to Dropbox, Twitter, Youtube, Tumblr, Flickr, Facebook, Skype and more are going that route.

Google's great features can be replicated with a bit of work, using open source solutions and perhaps a few small time bucks (I had to buy a commercial Caldav/Carddav client for Outlook to sync with my private OwnCloud server), but it is well worth it. With the Webdav app for Android, I have a fully synced private solution which keeps my contacts, calendar, documents, pictures and whatever else I want. Bittorrent Sync takes care of syncing between my home computers, and a home storage area server (NAS) stores all my data centrally and is scalable.

This is NOT expensive to do! Anyway, just had to get this out. :)


How did this go...? Probably wishful thinking I suppose :P
Also, google shouldn't be someone you should be worried about. Been using their service for over years and they haven't missed a beat. I know they store all google searches but , ALL search engines do store due to legal requirements.

Anyway this can be added too.

https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts

This too to block parasites that lurk the internet
 
Anyone tried Brave browser? I just put it on my phone and I like it so far. It automatically blocks ads and optimizes privacy and performance. Load times are quicker I noticed immediately. Supposedly it was created as a response to Google not respecting privacy and also allowing ads. Funny thing is that I had to download the Brave app in Google Play, go figure. But like I said it seems to be working fine so far. No more stupid ads while trying to watch videos on Youtube. I love it!

https://brave.com/
 

Joelist

What ship is this?
Staff member
Yep. I like Brave browser too!
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Anyone tried Brave browser? I just put it on my phone and I like it so far. It automatically blocks ads and optimizes privacy and performance. Load times are quicker I noticed immediately. Supposedly it was created as a response to Google not respecting privacy and also allowing ads. Funny thing is that I had to download the Brave app in Google Play, go figure. But like I said it seems to be working fine so far. No more stupid ads while trying to watch videos on Youtube. I love it!

https://brave.com/
Yep. I like Brave browser too!

I am getting this right now.

EDIT: I am back, using Brave now to edit this. I like it a lot!

But I want to talk about Google. :) For me, Google has revealed itself to be a great APP in it's totality. It manages my personal business email, using 2-factor authentication using an authenticator app on my phone. It also controls access to Drive, Docs and anything stored by your "organization" under Google on any mobile device. It alerts you when unauthorized devices try and sign on or access something, and even sends you a message when you yourself add a new device, asking if you did it. In Google Apps for Business, you get a Word processor, a Spreadsheet app, Presentation app, Database app and a myriad of other apps you just click in the Apps button in the Chrome browser. When you browse maps or look for a route from point A to point B on your PC, you can send the directions to your phone with a click. You get Google Voice and Google hangouts (A phone number + voicemail). If you install these on any phone, you have a second line with it's own voicemail and ring. Google Drive is your cloud hard drive, and you can sync it with a space on your PC.

All this is $5.00 a month, unless it isn't (low usage can make it only $2.50). It has transformed me ability to conduct business.

So, for me, Google/Chrome/Android is a huge cloud based Application that I cannot do without. But since the browser is a tool, This Brave browser will do when I want to surf for pleasure. I need to test drive it for a while. Thanks for the tip, Pussy!
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
I never would have thought I would flip flop 180 to the other side. Today, all that interconnected functionality is indispensable for me. Everything seamlessly and instantly available to me on my phone, PC, tablet or even a borrowed computer.

Look at this rant....

I have had it with Google in terms of privacy issues. I know more than a few of you here hate Google for the same reason, and I was a supporter of them until I heard that they bought Nest.

http://www.wired.com/2014/01/google-didnt-just-acquire-nest-annexed-whole-new-territory/

In case you have not heard of Nest, it is a company that makes home automation and security systems for homes and offices (smart refrigerators, stoves and ovens, HVAC systems, alarm systems, lighting systems, media systems, etc). This is more Google worming itself into EVERY aspect in our lives, and entire nations are up in arms over it.

View attachment 29999

They are the closest real life analogy to Skynet. Microsoft is currently the bed partner of the NSA and the military and intelligence communities, but Microsoft's reach is not nearly as granular as Google's. Microsoft gives the NSA the ability to read your emails and documents in Office apps, and it can allow the NSA to explore the contents of your entire computer UNLESS you have encrypted it with a non-Microsoft product like TrueCrypt. It makes no sense to use Microsoft' Bitlocker to do it since they created it. :facepalm:. Google is much different. With the saturation of Android on the majority of the world's smartphones, and the wide use of Chrome, Google has it's eyes on the masses. It can aggregate the sort of real time data that Microsoft cannot hope to have anytime soon. Locations, time frames, personal interests and desires, photos and text messages and phone calls and circles of friends and relatives, it is mind-boggling. If you use Google products like Google Finance and Google Public DNS, you are in even deeper than you know.

MORE about what information they collect and how they collect it here: http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/01/08/how-google-collects-data-about-you-and-the-internet/

View attachment 30000

Now, Google is going to be in your refrigerators and home appliances too. People will be walking around as potential agents of Google (unwittingly) with real time first person data at street level provided by Google Glass, who needs the Google Street View vehicles? I have already decided: I will not allow Google Glass to be worn in my home. I hope that laws will be passed to ban them from hospitals, courtrooms, theaters, restaurants, bars and any other place they might compromise privacy.

Enough on that...

I have uninstalled Google Chrome and gone with SRware Iron which is Chromium based, but not Google. It even has an incognito mode you can create a switch for in a shortcut to start. I have made my homepages Dogpile and DuckDuckGo (the Iron choice) because Google no longer gives you honest search results. It puts paid clients at the top of the search, and does not tell you they are sponsored. The sponsored ads are not clearly marked always either. I uninstalled Google Earth too. See, we can use these services without having to have Chrome or Earth, just by using a browser (as long as it isnt Chrome).

Why is it that when small, great companies become big greedy companies, they get carried away? It happened to Dropbox, Twitter, Youtube, Tumblr, Flickr, Facebook, Skype and more are going that route.

Google's great features can be replicated with a bit of work, using open source solutions and perhaps a few small time bucks (I had to buy a commercial Caldav/Carddav client for Outlook to sync with my private OwnCloud server), but it is well worth it. With the Webdav app for Android, I have a fully synced private solution which keeps my contacts, calendar, documents, pictures and whatever else I want. Bittorrent Sync takes care of syncing between my home computers, and a home storage area server (NAS) stores all my data centrally and is scalable.

This is NOT expensive to do! Anyway, just had to get this out. :)

BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH....:anim_59:

Today, it is a mature, and extremely powerful asset. You have complete functionality of your resources without needing much more than a browser and high resolution screen which allows the use of a keyboard and mouse.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
Oh, I left out the most important thing! You can do all of this on your own domain, but it is managed by Google and you get all the other stuff I mentioned. If you have a small business which has a BYOD policy, you can enforce policy on any approved device, and you can also remote wipe all business assets from the phone and deauthorize employees you terminate. All being harmless to the person's phone.
 

Overmind One

GateFans Gatemaster
Staff member
The Brave Browser. THANK YOU! I love it. :) I reserve my Chrome browser for business, but I surf with Brave because Chrome is a huge resource hog. Merely opening it starts up at least 6 processes under *chrome. It was maxing out my RAM on the old laptop which only has 4GB. Brave does not do that, and it reminds me a lot of Safari.
 
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